


No Boys Allowed

by circ_bamboo



Series: Femslash Ask Box Prompts, Filled [2]
Category: How to Train Your Dragon (Movies)
Genre: F/F
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-03-02
Updated: 2015-03-02
Packaged: 2018-03-15 23:07:24
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,499
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3465419
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/circ_bamboo/pseuds/circ_bamboo
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>From reena_jenkns's askbox prompt: If you're still taking f/f prompts.... Astrid/Ruffnut, solidarity from being the first two female dragon riders in Berk? Bonding in the locker rooms post-dragon racing? Winner-gets-a-PRIZE post-dragon racing?</p><p>... something like the first. Fluff, fluff, and more fluff. (Set just a little past the first movie.)</p>
            </blockquote>





	No Boys Allowed

**Author's Note:**

  * For [reena_jenkins](https://archiveofourown.org/users/reena_jenkins/gifts).



_Thunk._

_Thunk._

_Thunk._

Even though Berk wasn't at war with the dragons anymore, and even though Astrid Hofferson herself was a dragon rider with no real reason to throw axes at anything, she was still standing in the forest, pulling a blade out of a tree. She wasn't being particularly quiet or stealthy about it either, which was her excuse for why she didn't notice when Ruffnut Thorston came up behind her.

"What's wrong?"

Astrid spun around, ax in her hand, and then lowered it. "Nothing's wrong," she said, and even she had to admit the belligerence in her tone belied the statement.

"Uh huh," Ruffnut said. "Which is why you're throwing axes again. You know we don't _have_ to do that anymore, right?"

It was a rhetorical question, obviously, so Astrid shrugged.

"I haven't seen you this worked up since like . . . two weeks ago, or something." Ruffnut leaned against a nearby tree, or tried to, but caught herself before she could actually fall. Astrid did not smile. "So, really, what's up?"

"Nothing," Astrid said again.

Ruffnut raised her eyebrows, and Astrid sighed. "Hiccup is the single most frustrating human being in existence," she said, turning to the side and hurling the ax into another tree.

"No he's not," Ruffnut said, following Astrid as she went to retrieve the ax. "Tuffnut is, and I should know, because I have been stuck with him literally my entire life. Hiccup is, like, at worst, third on the list."

"You have a point," Astrid said.

"Still makes him pretty frustrating, though," Ruffnut acknowledged. "What'd he do this time?"

"Nothing. Everything. I don't know. He's just --" Astrid sighed again. "He runs hot and cold. Like, one minute he wants to talk with me, looks like he wants to kiss me, and then the next minute he's gone and won't tell me what's going on."

"Maybe he's trying to surprise you with something," Ruffnut said. "I mean, probably he's just terrible, because boys are terrible, but, you know, maybe."

"He's not trying to surprise me with anything," Astrid said. "I followed him and he's just flying around, having fun discovering new places, and drawing a map. I mean, it's fine if he wants to be alone, but could he just tell me?"

"No, because he's a boy, and boys are terrible," Ruffnut said with exaggerated patience.

"They really are," Astrid said, and yanked the ax out of the tree.

"So forget Hiccup and all other boys for a day."

"Sure."

"No, for real," Ruffnut said. "Stick around with me. We can go flying. You can ride on Belch's head. We'll go discover things without Hiccup or Tuffnut or, ugh, Fishlegs and Snoutlout." She wrinkled her nose.

"Hm." Astrid was tempted, she really was. She and Ruffnut hadn't ever been very close friends, even though they were about the same age and had grown up in the same village. Ruffnut always had her twin brother, though, and Astrid had basically decided at age four that she was going to be the best dragon fighter ever, so that had taken all her spare time. But now she was a dragon trainer and rider and not a dragon fighter, and among the very first, which put her in a group of six, four of whom were boys. _And terrible_ , Ruffnut's voice said inside her head, and Astrid had to smile.

"You smiled!" Ruffnut said. "That means yes, right?"

"Okay, yes," Astrid said. "Let me go put the ax away and we can go."

***

Astrid had of course flown on Barf and Belch before, as a third person and in control of one of the heads, but it was a little different doing it for fun rather than in training or in battle. She found herself whooping for joy along with Ruffnut whenever they made it around a particularly tricky obstacle or did something especially acrobatic. While Barf and Belch weren't as nimble as, say, Toothless with Hiccup, and while they clearly weren't as bright as Stormfly, they were still a lot of fun to ride.

It was a lot of fun to ride with Ruffnut, too, who threw herself into their joyriding like she did everything: wholeheartedly, sincerely, and with little regard for her own personal safety. She wasn't stupid, though, just . . . a little reckless. 

And frankly, Astrid needed a little reckless right now.

Eventually, after a bunch of loops, they ended up in a clearing with a pool. "I know where we are," Astrid said. "This is where Toothless and Hiccup come to train a lot."

"That explains the piles of barfed-up fish bones," Ruffnut said, poking one with a stick. "Not you," she said to Barf, who snuffled a little and then curled up with Belch into a ball. "It's pretty here."

"Yeah, it is," Astrid said, walking over to the edge of the pond and kneeling to dip her fingers in. The water was remarkably clear, and she picked up a pebble from the bottom and sent it flying across the surface.

It skipped four times before sinking, which wasn't bad, but she knew she could do better, and she was hunting for another skipping stone when something -- someone -- whooshed past her and yelled, "Yippee!"

Astrid looked up, and of course Ruffnut was in the pond. She'd stripped out of her outer layer of clothing and was wearing what looked like just her undershirt and drawers, both plastered to her skin by the water, and she ducked down to float with only her head and part of her shoulders visible. "Well?" she said. "You coming in?"

It was the height of summer, so it was pretty warm out, and after a moment, Astrid said, "Yes."

"C'mon!"

Astrid stripped down to her undershirt and drawers in record time and slogged her way into the water; it was cold enough to make her shiver, but once she'd dunked her head and paddled around a little, it was nice. Ruffnut was doing handstands in an area that was shallow enough that her feet were still above the surface, but only her feet, and Astrid paddled her way over and grabbed one ankle.

Ruffnut fell over, kicking, and came up for air all in a rush, diving for Astrid's head and dunking her under the water. When Astrid fought her way up from that, she was laughing; they both were, because it was just plain fun. "Race you to the other side," Ruffnut said, and took off without waiting for Astrid to agree.

Of course Astrid chased after her, but they were fairly evenly matched with swimming. Astrid might have been a little better swimmer, but Ruffnut made up for it with enthusiasm, and they slapped the rocks on the other side almost simultaneously. "I won!" Ruffnut crowed.

"No, I did!" Astrid said, because the fight was more fun than just acknowledging that she'd lost.

"No, I did!" Ruffnut let go of her handhold on the rock face and ducked under the water, going to Astrid's legs. Astrid bent over and grabbed Ruffnut around the waist, and they somersaulted through the water until they both had to let go to get air.

By then, Ruffnut was starting to shiver and Astrid herself wasn't far behind, so she said, "Hey, let's go lay out in the sun, okay?"

"Okay," Ruffnut said, "but not here, all right? I know of a better place."

The 'better place' turned out to be on top of a plateau, nice and sunny and with a nearby outcropping for Barf and Belch, so the dragon wouldn't be crowding the girls. A nest of tiny dragonets inhabited the plateau, and Astrid let them nibble at her fingertips as she lay on her back, her other arm shielding her eyes from the midafternoon sun.

"This is nice, huh?" Ruffnut said.

"Yeah," Astrid said. "It's great."

"Yeah," Ruffnut said.

Even though Astrid couldn't see anything, she could feel Ruffnut hold herself unnaturally still for a moment, and then the other girl rolled over so she was on her side next to Astrid. "Hey, uh," Ruffnut said. "Don't freak out or nothing, but --" She leaned over and kissed Astrid square on the lips, fast like a snake striking, and just as short.

"What was that?" Astrid asked, taking her arm off her eyes and pushing herself up to her side as well.

"Nothing," Ruffnut said belligerently.

Astrid's heart was beating furiously, and she blinked a couple times and swallowed before saying, "Well, even if it's _nothing_ , at least do it right." She grabbed the back of Ruffnut's head and pulled her in for a real kiss.

"Okay," Ruffnut said a minute later. "Yeah, that was better."

"You think?" Astrid said. She grinned and touched the tip of her nose to the tip of Ruffnut's nose before rolling onto her back and pulling Ruffnut down to rest on her shoulder.

"Good day," Ruffnut said, sometime later. "We should do this again. No boys allowed."

"Yeah, definitely," Astrid said, and grinned.


End file.
